This invention relates generally to the field of musical instruments and more specifically to a foot pedal for electronic drums.
Conventional drum pedals are widely used, and require significant mechanical leverage to impact a fairly heavy drum beater with the drum head. If the throw of the beater is shortened or the mass is reduced, there is often not enough sound produced. Electronic drums, on the other hand, detect an impact and amplify the sound after computing the proper note or sound as selected by the musician. Heavy beaters with lots of mass and force are no longer required, yet virtually all commercial electronic drum pedals incorporate the old pedal design because, it is thought, that's what drummers are used to. The problem is that the mass and long throw weight inherent in conventional pedals make them unnecessarily slow and hard to control.
FIGS. 9 and 9a show conventional drum pedal technology. Drum pedal 101 is hinged at rear 102 and is connected at the front to chain or flexible strap 103. Strap 103 is attached to lever 104 that is suspended on axle 105 using supports 112. Attached to lever 104 is a rod 106 that supports beater head 107. Arm 108 is attached to axle 105 and connected to return spring 109. Spring tension is adjustable using nut 110 that screws onto lower spring attachment bolt 111. Clamp 113 is used to attach the pedal to the shell of bass drum 114. When pedal 101 is pressed down as in FIG. 9a, strap or chain 103 is pulled and it in turn rotates lever 104, rod 106 and beater 107 which impacts the surface of a drum pad 115.
The arc of travel for the typical beater 116 is approximately 9 inches in length. Rod 106 and beater 107 typically weigh from one to three pounds. Pedal 101 plus chain 103 can weigh a total of several pounds. In order to move all of this mass back to the starting point, spring 109 typically has a relatively high tension. To counter the force of the spring and to move the pedal rapidly, a relatively large amount of force must be used. A moderate downstroke may require approximately 10 pounds of force, while loud playing may require significantly more. The inherent inertia of existing drum pedals makes rapid successive drum beats impossible, and the long arc of travel of the beater makes timing difficult. Many drummers compensate by adding a second bass drum, or using a remote double bass pedal played with a second foot. In both cases, the hi-hat instrument must be abandoned.